Where's the smell?

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internatrolet

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Long story short, I re-did a bathroom completely. After everything was finished I could smell the septic gas. I checked everything but I don't know where it's coming from and entering the bathroom. All "P" traps have water so I don't know where the smell is coming from.
Here is the drain system:

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The top is the shower drain, next to the cast iron stack is the toilette and the second picture is the sink drain.

I feel like I should have added a vent somewhere but where? Please use paint if you have a solution... I can get to it from the bottom so if I need to add a vent I can.
 
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ArtM

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I'll let the plumbing pros have the final say but it looks like you're missing vents for the sink and shower.

Nice hack job on the joists. You've seriously compromised their load carrying ability - probably by 1/2 or more.
 

internatrolet

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Nice hack job on the joists. You've seriously compromised their load carrying ability - probably by 1/2 or more.
I knew someone would chime in about that. I was the third person to do this bathroom from the looks of the old plumbing holes. I patched everything before I put the floor down, don't worry. Lot's of sistering, gluing and screwing to say the least.
 

hj

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bathroom

You may know a little bit about carpentry and framing but you apparently know NOTHING about plumbing. Seeing how you installed the drain lines, I would be surprised if you DID NOT have odors. There is little, if anything, about the plumbing that is proper.
 

internatrolet

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So getting past the obvious screw up on my part what would you suggest I do? What is so wrong with it, aside from the vent issue?
 

Gardner

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non professional opinion

My bet is that whenever you flush that toilet, it sucks half the water out of both the sink and shower traps.

The way the sink runs, without a vent, you effectively have an S-trap and the water can easily be sucked out of the trap by a toilet flush.

The water doesn't all have to leave the trap to allow gasses through, so just seeing water sitting in there doesn't mean the trap is working. Try topping up the traps with a bit of extra water and see if it helps the smell.

Try flushing that toilet and listen at the sink and shower and see if you can hear air being pulled through the traps.
 

internatrolet

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I thought that might be something to check. If I flush the toilette the only noticeable thing is the shower trap water moves slightly, but in no way gets sucked out of it or the under sink trap.
Not that it makes it right by any means but the original system was exactly the way it is now, all I really did was move stuff around. There were no vents in the system with the old stuff either. I can post a pic if need be before I ripped the old out. And there was no smell in there at all.
 

internatrolet

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My bet is that whenever you flush that toilet, it sucks half the water out of both the sink and shower traps.
The way the sink runs, without a vent, you effectively have an S-trap and the water can easily be sucked out of the trap by a toilet flush.
Try flushing that toilet and listen at the sink and shower and see if you can hear air being pulled through the traps.
There is more to the sink trap then in the picture, The standard goose neck set-up was added after the cabinet was put in place.

So if it were you, walking up to this, how would you fix it?
 

Gardner

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Have you localized the source of the sewer smell at all? Put a stopper in the sink, and lay a wet cloth over the shower drain and come back in an hour. Any smell? Unplug sink. Any smell? Unplug shower. Any smell? Does the toilet rock or move?

Did you leave a sandwich in the wall cavity when you drywalled?

Have you searched the forum for "sewer smell" or "sewer gas" and read the similar threads?
 

internatrolet

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Have you localized the source of the sewer smell at all? Put a stopper in the sink, and lay a wet cloth over the shower drain and come back in an hour. Any smell? Unplug sink. Any smell? Unplug shower. Any smell? Does the toilet rock or move?

Did you leave a sandwich in the wall cavity when you drywalled?

Have you searched the forum for "sewer smell" or "sewer gas" and read the similar threads?
I plugged the sink and smelled the trap water from the shower and vice-versa, I really can't say the smell is coming from either one more then the other.
I checked the sink trap to ensure water was present and could see the shower trap was full, flushed the toilette and really did not notice anything strange in the traps.
The toilette is solidly mounted without rocking at all.

Very funny about the sandwich...
 

internatrolet

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After a little more research here is what I plan to do in order to add another vent to the shower drain system. I have determined IAW code the sink based on distance from the stack does not require one but this one because of the way the piping is, will aid the sink as well. The line I will tie into is an existing vent.

What do you think?

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Redwood

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You might want to hire a plumber!

On the bright side there is a contest here that you could enter your photo's in....
 

internatrolet

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You might want to hire a plumber!

On the bright side there is a contest here that you could enter your photo's in....

So are you saying there is nothing a "Regular person" is capable of doing at this point? I refuse to believe there is some magic wand someone is going to come in here and wave. I recognize and acknowledge I may have incorrectly done something, not that anyone here seems to want to tell me exactly what that is, but all I want to do is get this corrected so I can finish this bathroom. If no-one here is willing to help, let me know and I will gladly delete my account. I am perfectly capable of fixing it, I just need to know how.

I really thought the "Remodel DIY advice forum" was for just that, advice...
 

Kingsotall

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I'll harken back to HJ's response to another poster a few days ago. It takes plumbers years to learn the fundamentals of rough in piping to code and that just plain works properly. And you want us to somehow fast forward that learning process through these keyboards¿ We would be at the least making a mockery of our trade and at the most putting the communitities health at risk. Not knowing these factors in itself is telling.
 

internatrolet

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It takes plumbers years to learn the fundamentals of rough in piping to code and that just plain works properly. And you want us to somehow fast forward that learning process through these keyboards¿ We would be at the least making a mockery of our trade and at the most putting the communitities health at risk. Not knowing these factors in itself is telling.
You know I fully understand what it takes to have a certain skill and appreciate a skilled trade and I don't see how I'm asking to learn all of your trade secrets. I simply want to get this thing right. It's as if you guys want me to just spend money and have a plumber tell me what you all claim to know. I'm starting to think no-one here knows that's why no-one seems to want to offer constructive criticism. Why is this forum even here if you guys don't seem to want to help people. I think some of you guys need to think long and hard why your a member of these forums. Are you really here to help or just slam people? Who knows maybe some guys on here would like to be a plumber one day and threads like this make them think: "Why would I when all the experts act like this"
I will pose my question again:
This can be fixed, I just need to know how. If someone wants to take a bold step and actually recommend something constructive, please do. Other wise, I know I did it wrong, you don't need to re-state that.
 

Ladiesman271

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So are you saying there is nothing a "Regular person" is capable of doing at this point? I refuse to believe there is some magic wand someone is going to come in here and wave. I recognize and acknowledge I may have incorrectly done something, not that anyone here seems to want to tell me exactly what that is, but all I want to do is get this corrected so I can finish this bathroom. If no-one here is willing to help, let me know and I will gladly delete my account. I am perfectly capable of fixing it, I just need to know how.

I really thought the "Remodel DIY advice forum" was for just that, advice...


Run a vent to:

1. The sink

2. The toilet

3. The shower
 

Redwood

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That's all you need to do!

Vent everything, and, yes the sink needs a vent because it is not vented by code!
 
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